GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The first of three phases is already complete in the reconstruction of Pearl Street in downtown Grand Rapids. And a whole new inconvenience will affect drivers.
During May, the intersection of Pearl Street at Mt. Vernon Avenue was partially closed, with no traffic allowed west of the intersection on Lake Michigan Drive. That work was scheduled to be finished May 31.
Now work moves under US-131, with Pearl Street closed from between the middle of the Mt. Vernon Avenue intersection to the middle of the Scribner Avenue intersection. The closure is scheduled through June 21.
The US-131 ramps will remain open, with access over the Grand River on Pearl Street available. But drivers exiting from southbound US-131 will have to use Front Street under US-131 and loop past the Grand Rapids Public Museum.
Eastbound traffic on Lake Michigan Drive will have to go south on Mt. Vernon Avenue and use Front Street as a detour. Westbound Pearl Street traffic will have to go north to Bridge Street as a detour.
Phase 3 of the project will have Pearl Street closed between Scribner Avenue and the Grand River between the Grand Rapids Public Museum and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.
